Railroad Earth, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers

Bruce Hornsby is fond of referring to himself on stage as a “10-time Grammy loser.”

That may be true. But his self-deprecation overlooks the fact this genre-leaping singer, pianist and songwriter has won three Grammys (Best New Artist in 1987, Best Bluegrass Recording in 1990 and Best Pop Instrumental in 1994).

Moreover, Hornsby may be the only piano and accordion player around whose credits include collaborations with Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, film director Spike Lee, jazz greats Branford Marsalis and Jack DeJohnette, the Celtic music group Clannad, Don Henley, Ricky Skaggs, Bonnie Raitt, Liquid Jesus, the American Film Orchestra and former San Diego Padres mainstay Tim Flannery.

For good measure, Hornsby’s chart-topping 1986 breakthrough hit, “The Way It Is,” was sampled on Tupac Shakur’s “Changes,” while Hornsby’s 1987 hit, “Every Little Kiss,” is the only Top 40 song I know of to quote the third movement of contemporary classical composer Charles Ives’ “Concord Sonata.” More recently, in 2011, he debuted his first musical, “SCKBSTRD” (the title of which apparently references an unhealthy child of questionable parentage).

So expect anything Wednesday night at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, where Hornsby will perform with his band, The Noisemakers, featuring ace drummer Sonny Emory. Their recent shows have mixed Hornsby’s keyboard-centric original compositions with covers of everything from The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” to Rick James’ “Super Freak.”